Mentor could get BurgerFi restaurant in former farmers market

By Betsy Scott

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Mentor continues its roll as a mecca for restaurants.

The latest to express interest in the city is BurgerFi, based in Florida.

The eatery seeks to locate in the former Little Mountain Farmers Market, at the corner of Little Mountain Road and Route 20. The building -- a Phillips gas station in the 1960s -- has been vacant since the market closed in 2009.

City Council on Monday approved a liquor permit transfer for the restaurant at that site.

The proposal must go before the city planning commission, which will consider a conditional-use permit and reimaging plan next week. A portion of the existing building would be demolished and a front patio added.

The project is significant, in part, because it would fill a hole in a high-profile building at the eastern edge of the Old Village Area -- a part of town that has experienced some neglect, Mentor Economic Development Director Ronald M. Traub said.

"This will put a viable use in that area and could result in stimulation of other businesses moving in," he said.

On its website, BurgerFi boasts using only fresh, all-natural Angus burgers with a wide array of toppings, hand-cut French fries, and craft beers and wine.

The decor includes "earth-friendly elements," like chairs made from recycled Coke bottles, tables made out of compressed recycled wood, and fans that use 66 percent less electricity.

This would be BurgerFi's first Ohio location. It started out in Delray Beach, Fla., and has several Florida restaurants. It now is branching out into Texas, North Carolina, Connecticut, California and Virginia in what the website terms the "Burgerfication of the Nation."

Several other new restaurants recently have opened in the city, including Melt and Zoup! Soup. Five Guys Burgers and Fries also plans a location in the city.